Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Flames scorch Hokies in opener of Battle of the Blue Ridge
10/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's D2 Hockey
Five-on-five action favored Liberty University's ACHA Division II men's hockey team in Sunday night's first game of the Battle of the Blue Ridge, a best-of-three series against Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey (MACH) rival Virginia Tech at the Berglund Civic Center in Roanoke.
The Flames scored on their first shift of the game, 27 seconds after the opening faceoff, before netting three goals in the second period and three more in the third for a decisive 7-1 victory over the host Hokies.
"There were only five penalties on the game," Flames Head Coach Chris Lowes said. "They had two power plays, we had one, and there was one four-on-four. We knew if we played five-on-five and played all four of our lines, we liked our chances. It allows everyone to be more actively involved and not many teams can match our depth."
Virginia Tech graduated many of its top players from last season and has had an up-and-down start, but was coming off a win over Maryland on Saturday night.
"We kind of did what we needed to do," Lowes said. "We controlled possession and had really good sustained pressure in their end. They didn't have their first shot until midway through the first period."
The Flames outshot the Hokies, 37-25, for the game and got four goals from its first line of sophomore Tim Bierema and graduate students Ryan Kerr and Christian Garland. Bierema scored Liberty's first two goals, the first off assists from Kerr and Garland and second at 16:22 of the second period set up by sophomore defenseman Adam Gnatowski.
Virginia Tech cut the deficit to 2-1 two minutes later on the game's only four-on-four before Garland scored off assists from Bierema and Kerr at the 8:30 mark and senior forward Eric Burke finished feeds from Gnatowski and junior forward Chase Evangelista 2:15 before the second intermission.
"That gave us pretty commanding control at 4-1 and then, when we came out in the third and got one early, it took any potential momentum they might have had off the table," Lowes said.
Sophomore defenseman Sean Bakker put away assists from Kerr and Bierema 2:30 into the third period before junior forward Devon Docksteader converted passes from junior forward Paul Ingles and junior defenseman Roger Roulette into a sixth score with 13:15 to play. Evangelista capped the scoring with 58 seconds left off an assist from Burke.
"To have that kind of depth and scoring from all our lines was very encouraging," Lowes said. "It was really a breakout game for the line of Garland, Kerr, and Bierema."
Liberty sophomore goalie Connor Carew played another solid game to stay unbeaten between the pipes, stopping all 25 of the Hokies' shots.
Virginia Tech goalie Tanner Jones, who played in the MACH All-Star game along with the Flames' Docksteader, Ingles, and Roulette, made some big saves to help keep the Hokies in the game early.
Liberty improved to 6-0 heading into next weekend's games at Delaware and Rider before hosting Penn State and Rider, Oct. 30-31 at the LaHaye Ice Center.
"It was another solid weekend," Lowes said. "We took another step in the right direction and have solidified ourself as a top-four team in the (South) Region, for sure. We've got to keep working on a lot of things, fine-tuning what we're doing with our lines and our systems. We're not focused on the big picture. We're taking it game-by game and even practice by practice."
The Flames can clinch a defense of their Battle of the Blue Ridge title with a win Jan. 10 in Roanoke or Jan. 17 at home, which both count in the MACH standings.
"It's a really healthy rivalry," Lowes said. "Both teams have had successes in the postseason, at times at each other's expense."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
